


set my heart aflame, every part aflame

by liveinfury



Category: Hockey RPF
Genre: M/M, Miscommunication, Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-09
Updated: 2018-03-09
Packaged: 2019-03-28 12:40:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,810
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13904235
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/liveinfury/pseuds/liveinfury
Summary: "What do you think about Nate?” Mikey asks.“He’s hot,” Dylan says and then hiccups. “So hot, dude.”“Yeah,” Mikey agrees, trying to stomp down the jealousy rising in him.“And I got his number,” Dylan says wagging his eyebrows.





	set my heart aflame, every part aflame

**Author's Note:**

> this is loosely based on the song Satisfied from Hamilton, hence the title.
> 
> thanks to Ellie for being a great beta as always! <3

Mikey lines up his cups and starts filling them with beer for an epic game of beer pong. He’s at Mitch Marner’s annual start of the summer party and it’s a little bittersweet this year since they’re all leaving for university in a few months. 

“Stromer,” Mikey scolds when he sees Dylan barely filling his own set. “It’s gotta be even.”

Dylan waves a hand in dismissal. “Yeah, yeah, they are.”

“You’re a fuckwad, Stromer,” Mikey says, laughing. He rounds the table to join Dylan and fills the cups to match his own.

“You guys have room for one more?” someone says from behind them.

Mikey turns around and sees quite possibly the most beautiful human being on the planet.

“Sure, man,” Dylan answers as Mikey stares at the guy, motionless. “I’m Dylan. This is Mikey.”

“I’m Nate,” the guy-Nate says.

“How do you know Mitch?” Dylan asks, aiming for casual but coming off as territorial.

“Oh, my family just moved in down the street. Mitch and his family came over to offer us help with unpacking the U-Haul, we hung out afterwards and he invited me to his ‘Epic Summer Bash Party,’” Nate replies, smiling.

Mikey’s not afraid to admit he swooned at the sight of Nate’s dimples.

“Cool, cool,” Dylan responds. “You can be on my team.”

Mikey’s still staring as Nate comes over to Dylan’s side of the table and looks at him expectantly. “Are you on our team too, or?”

Mikey blushes and finally moves, walking to the other side of the table. “Um, teams are uneven. I’ll go get Mitch,” he says, looking around for him. He spots an energetic head of brown hair bouncing around in the living room and heads over.

“Mitch!” he shouts, trying to get his attention. “Mitchell!”

Mitch’s jumping up and down as he cheers Alex on in Mario Kart. “What?” he yells, not taking his eyes off the game. 

“Wanna play beer pong? We need an extra guy,” Mikey answers.

“Who’s we?”

“Me, Dylan, and-”

“Good luck, bud. You got this,” Mitch says to Alex before Mikey can finish his sentence, already making his way over.

When they get back to the beer pong table, Dylan’s laughing at something Nate said but his smile falters when he sees Mitch.

“Hey,” Mitch says, hesitantly.

Dylan just nods his head in acknowledgement. Mikey rolls his eyes at their stupidity and takes his place at the opposite end of the table. 

Dylan and Nate totally crush them in the game. Mikey’s positively buzzed by the end of it and he and Mitch bow out of the second round letting Alex and Ryan take over for them.

Mikey’s loading up a plate of snack in the kitchen when Nate walks in a half hour later.

“Mikey, right?” Nate asks, pointing at him.

“Yeah,” Mikey responds. He can feel his palms starting to sweat as Nate’s attention stays on him.

“You guys all seem pretty close,” Nate says, leaning against the counter next to Mikey.

Mikey nods. “Most of us have been friends since we were kids.”

“Did you just graduate too? Dylan was telling me about how he’s going to Arizona State in the fall.”

“I did, yeah. I’m going to Rutgers, it’s in New-”

“Jersey! Dude, me too!” Nate exclaims.

Mikey puts his plate of food down and turns to fully face Nate. “What?”

“I just graduated too. I went to high school a couple towns over but we moved here because my dad got a new job. I’m going to Rutgers in a few months.”

Mikey squints his eyes. “New Brunswick, Camden, or Newark? Because they have three campuses spread out over New Jersey.”

“New Brunswick,” Nate replies.

“No shit, me too,” Mikey says, astonished. “I didn’t know anyone else who’s going to school anywhere remotely close to New Jersey.”

Nate grins at him. “Well, now you do!”

“I guess so,” Mikey replies, shyly.

Eventually they part ways and Mikey ends up on the couch watching a Mario Kart tournament that’s gotten way too intense for his liking. Dylan starts yelling in rage and he’s this close to throwing his wheel at someone. Mikey’s about to leave the situation when Nate plops down next to him.

“Hey!”

Mikey can’t help but to smile at him. “Hi.”

There’s plenty of room on the couch but Nate’s sitting so close to him that their thighs and arms are touching. Mikey can feel his insides turning to mush.

“Is he going to be okay?” Nate asks, tilting his head towards Dylan who’s now trying to quit the game while Alex screams at him for being a loser.

“He’ll be fine,” Mikey replies, shaking his head.

They watch in silence as Mitch makes his way over and wraps an arm around Dylan’s wrist. Dylan instantly goes slack and turns to him, control easily pulled out of his hands by Alex. Mitch whispers something to Dylan, smiles, and walks away leaving Dylan staring after him.

“What’s up with those two?” Nate asks.

“Exes,” Mikey answers with a sigh.

“Ah, that would explain why Dylan got so weird when Mitch showed up for the beer pong game.”

“Yeah, they’re...complicated,” Mikey says, not wanting to delve further. He doesn’t really want to gossip about his friends’ relationship to someone who is essentially a stranger.

“And what about you?” Nate asks with a smirk. “Anything complicated going on with you?”

Mikey stares at him, unsure if he’s coming onto him or if he’s genuinely curious. “No,” he says, snapping out of it. “Nothing complicated here. I’m single.”

Nate grins at him. “Me too,” he says. “Single, going to Rutgers...looks like we have a lot in common.”

“Looks like it,” Mikey says, unable to look away from Nate’s eyes.

They start talking about their hobbies which of course leads to hockey. They get lost in conversation and it’s not until Mitch comes over a while later that Mikey realizes he just passed an hour at a party with a stranger. 

Mitch interrupts them and pulls Nate away to introduce him to some of the other guys. Mikey catches glimpses of him throughout the night but doesn’t get a chance to talk to him again.

When Mikey’s leaving with a stumbling Dylan, he realizes he didn’t ask for Nate’s number. He wants to hangout with him again even if it’s as a friend.

“Fuck,” he mumbles in annoyance. He doesn’t want to have to ask Mitch for it, knowing him, he’ll make a big deal out of it and try to play matchmaker or something.

“What?” Dylan asks as he hangs onto Mitch’s shoulder for balance. They only live a few streets away from Mitch and it’s nice enough outside for them to walk home and not have to deal with getting a designated driver.

“What do you think about Nate?” Mikey asks. He trusts Dylan not to make it a thing like Mitch would. And it helps that he’s drunk enough to not realizing what exactly Mikey’s trying to get at.

“He’s hot,” Dylan says and then hiccups. “So hot, dude.”

“Yeah,” Mikey agrees, trying to stomp down the jealousy rising in him.

“And I got his number,” Dylan says wagging his eyebrows.

“You like him?” Mikey asks, biting his lips in anticipation.

Dylan shrugs. “Like I said, he’s hot and he seems cool. Why not?”

“What about Mitch? And you’re going to Arizona, Nate’s going to Jersey,” Mikey explains.

“Who cares about Mitch? And so what? I can do long distance. Marns is the one who can’t handle it. ‘I don’t think I can do this. Long distance will be hard. I don’t want to be tied down next year,’” Dylan repeats what Mitch said to him a month ago when they were nearing the end of their senior year. “Well fuck you Marns, fucking asshole.”

“So you’re going to try something with Nate?” Mikey asks.

“It’s about time I got over Mitch,” Dylan replies. “‘Sides, he’s hot, Mikey.”

“Yeah, you said that already,” Mikey mutters. He can’t really be mad at Dylan, it’s not his fault they both wanna pursue the same guy. Mikey’s the idiot who baited Dylan into talking about Nate instead of just coming right out and saying what he thought of him.

He can’t really picture Dylan and Nate together. But then again, a few years ago he couldn’t picture Dylan and Mitch together and they turned out to be some sort of epic love story. Well, an epic love story that crashed and burned.

***

Mikey sees Nate a week later at their annual road hockey tournament. They get picked by the same team, captained by Mitch.

“I hear you’re good,” Nate says to him as they line up for the faceoff.

Mikey shrugs, keeping his eye on the ball. “I put up a few points.”

“Oh yeah?” Nate asks. “Heard you scored three goals in the finals last year.”

Mikey turns to face him and smirks. “You’ve been asking around about me?”

A deep red shade crawls up Nate’s neck and rests on his cheeks and the tips of his ears. “Maybe,” he replies, staring back at Mikey.

Naturally, they miss puck drop, or ball drop rather, and end up having to run after the other team. Nate forces his way to the others and recovers the ball, passing it smoothly to Mikey who fakes Dylan out and scores a sweet backhander.

“Fuck yeah!” Nate yells, running over and slapping Mikey on the back. “You got some sick hands.”

“Yeah?” Mikey asks. He can feel himself blushing at the appraisal. There something about Nate that makes Mikey want to have his approval and attention for all of eternity. 

“Yeah,” Nate answers, dropping his gaze down to Mikey’s bare hands that clutch his stick.

They line up for the next faceoff and this time it’s Mikey assisting on Nate’s goal. They end up winning the game and a few more, securing a spot in the finals and ultimately winning the entire tournament. Mikey’s always been pretty good at road hockey but with Nate on his line, he’s scoring even more than he usually does. It’s like they’re insync and know exactly where the other will be at any given moment. Mikey hasn’t had this much chemistry with anyone since he met Dylan when they were six years old.

After the makeshift trophy that Dylan bought online gets passed around and everyone takes a running lap with it, Mikey and Mitch retrieve to the Strome’s patio and gulp down Gatorade and nibble on some snacks that Mrs. Strome laid out for them.

“I had fun,” Nate says, joining them. “Thanks for inviting me, Marns.”

“Yeah, it’s always a good time when everyone can make it,” Mitch answers. 

“I kinda wish we moved here earlier,” Nate says. “You guys are all so close. It’s cute.”

Mikey laughs. “I think if you grew up here we’d crush it every year. We’d probably get banned from the tournament.”

“Too good, eh?”

Mikey nods in reply, unable to form words as Nate beams at him, smiling ear to ear.

“Nater!” Dylan calls from the other side of the street.

Nate turns around just as Dylan comes jogging over. “Oh hey,” Nate says as he approaches.

“Good game, man. You fit right in,” Dylan says, holding his fist out for a pound.

“Thanks. Mikey made it easy for me,” Nate replies, bumping his fist against Dylan’s.

“So, um. What’re you up to tomorrow night?” Dylan asks Nate, shuffling his weight from one foot to the other.

Nate shrugs. “I don’t have any plans.”

“Well, do you maybe wanna go out with me? Dinner and a movie?” Dylan asks.

Mikey’s stomach bottoms out. With all the time he spent with Nate that day and all the subtle flirting, he completely forgot that Dylan was into him. Dylan, who has his number and texted him all week. Dylan, who knows what he wants and goes for it. Dylan, who’s the one making Nate blush now.

Nate takes a few moments to reply, clearly shocked at Dylan’s question.

“Go out with you?” Nate repeats. “As in…”

“A date,” Dylan finishes for him. “I feel like we’ve gotten to know each other the past week, what with all the texting and everything. I like you and I think we’d be good together.”

Mikey pushes aside his own nausea to spare a glance at Mitch who’s staring off into the distance, jaw set and shoulders stiff.

“I-” Nate starts. He turns around and looks at Mikey and makes a face, as if he’s asking a question using his eyes. Mikey knows Nate probably doesn’t think of Dylan in that way, especially considering he’s aware of Dylan and Mitch’s complicated relationship and he doesn’t seem the type to want to step on anyone’s toes, but Mikey honestly doesn’t know what Nate expects him to do right now. Nate raises his eyebrows at Mikey one more time before turning and facing Dylan. 

“Okay,” Nate answers.

Mikey refrains from screaming in annoyance. Why would Nate agree? All he had to do was say no and let Dylan move on. They just met last week it’s not like things would be awkward if he rejected him.

“Really?” Dylan asks, surprised by Nate’s answer.

“Sure. That sounds nice,” Nate says.

“Cool. Well, I’m gonna head down to the basement and start up a Chel tournament,” Dylan says. “You in?”

Nate nods. “Only if I can be the Leafs,” he answers, already following Dylan towards the sliding glass door.

“Dude! No way, we play on random. House rules,” Mikey hears Dylan say as the door slides shut and they retrieve inside.

“You okay?” Mikey asks Mitch who’s now clenching and unclenching his fist.

“Do you think that was for real?” Mitch asks through gritted teeth.

“Dylan asking Nate out?”

Mitch nods tersely. 

“I think so. I didn’t know he was gonna do that if that’s what you’re asking,” Mikey assures him.

“No, but I mean, does he really like Nate or was that to make me jealous or something? Why would he do it in front of me otherwise?”

Mikey winces as he answers, “I think he does like Nate. You probably don’t wanna hear this but he kept calling him hot when we were leaving your party last week and he got Nate’s number.”

“So he meant it? He’s moved on?” Mitch asks lowering his head in his hands.

“I wouldn’t say he’s moved on. I think he’s _trying_ to move on,” Mikey clarifies.

“I guess I can’t be angry, it’s my own fucking fault,” Mitch says, words muffled by his arm.

“Was it just the long distance?” Mikey asks the one thing that’s bugging him about their breakup. “Don’t you think maybe Dylan’s worth it?”

Mitch sits up and looks at Mikey with red rimmed eyes. “Of course he’s worth it. He’s worth everything.”

“Then why breakup?” 

“He deserves better, he deserves more. He should be going to college single without anyone holding him back. If he’s in Arizona constantly thinking about me, missing me, then it’ll ruin the experience for him and you know how much he’s been looking forward to it. I thought it’d be better to breakup with him early on in the summer so that way he can get over me by the time he has to head down there in August,” Mitch explains.

Mikey’s heart aches for them. He understands Mitch’s reasoning, it makes sense, but he also knows how much Dylan loves Mitch. “Does he know this?”

“No, and you can’t tell him,” Mitch replies. “Please, Mikey. You can’t say anything. He’s too fucking stubborn for his own good.”

“He thinks that you don’t think he’s worth the long distance,” Mikey says. “At least clear that up with him?”

Mitch winces. “Yeah, I will. I’ll talk to him.”

Mikey nods and turns his attention back to the guac on his plate.

“I’m sorry about Nate,” Mitch says after some time.

“What about him?” Mikey asks loading up his plate with seconds.

“You two flirted practically the entire tournament. I didn’t think he’d say yes to Dylan, that was weird.”

Mikey shrugs. “I think he’s just a flirty guy in general.”

Mitch stares at him and then sighs with a look of pity. “Sorry, bud. Been there, felt that.”

***

When they all part ways later that night at Dylan’s house, Nate rushes up to Mikey while he’s slipping his shoes on. It’s the first time they’ve been alone together since earlier that afternoon, before Dylan asked him out.

“Can I see your phone?” Nate asks, biting his bottom lip.

Mikey hands his phone over in a daze, eyes never leaving Nate’s mouth.

“Cool, here,” Nate says a few seconds later, handing it back. His message app is open and there’s a new text conversation that wasn’t there before with “Nater” followed by a trophy and an elephant emoji.

“Elephant?” Mikey questions

Nate shrugs. “I like elephants.”

 _I like you_ Mikey thinks, the words bouncing around in his head so loudly that he think Nate may be able to hear them.

“I gotta go,” Mikey blurts out instead and calmly power walks out of Dylan’s house.

“Text me!” Nate shouts after him.

***

Over the next few weeks Mikey gets to know Nate a lot better. They text practically every day and he’s hung out with Nate a few times, usually with some of the other guys around, but it still counts as something.

Dylan never mentioned how things were with Nate to Mikey. When Mikey asked him how the date went he just got a “good” out of Dylan and that was it. He couldn’t really work up the courage to ask Nate how it went. He’s too scared that Nate might say positive things.

From what Mikey’s gathered, it seems like they might have gone on more than one date. Dylan mentions Nate in conversation a few times in ways where it sounds like they’re dating. Like when Dylan came over for some burgers the other day he started talking about how Nate hates vegetables and he’d eat it plain with just the bun and patty. 

Mikey feels horrible for crushing on Nate. Dylan knows that they exchanged numbers and have been talking and sometimes Mikey totally forgets Nate and Dylan are a thing but when he remembers, something ugly burns inside him. He gets pummeled by jealousy and guilt.

It also doesn’t really help that Dylan’s been looking happier and happier as the days go by. After his break up with Mitch, he was miserable. He wouldn’t leave his room for days on end, just wallowing in his bed. It took him a few weeks to be able to handle seeing and speaking to Mitch and now, a month later, it’s nice to see him smiling again. Mikey wouldn’t do anything to ruin that.

Mikey’s curled up under his covers in bed watching old Vines on his phone when Nate texts him.

 **Nate** : i have something to tell you  
**Mikey** : ???  
**Nate** : ahh i’m scared to tell you  
**Mikey** : you can tell me anything dude  
**Mikey** : i won’t judge i promise  
**Nate** : i maybe kinda have feeeelings  
**Mikey** : feeelings?  
**Nate** : i like someone

Mikey’s chest tightens as he reads the words. He already assumed Nate liked Dylan, why else would they be dating, but seeing those words come from Nate still hurts. He squeezes his eyes shut tight for a few moments before replying. 

**Mikey** : i know  
**Nate** : yeah?  
**Mikey** : kinda obvious lol  
**Nate** : and?  
**Mikey** : and what?

Mikey’s confused as to what’s going on. Is Nate asking for his approval to date Dylan or something?

 **Nate** : nvm guess that answers the question  
**Mikey** : huh?  
**Nate** : just forget i said anything nbd  
**Mikey** : okaay…

Mikey follows Nate’s lead and changes the subject to their upcoming orientation at Rutgers. He doesn’t get what Nate wanted out of that conversation. Was he telling Mikey about his feelings as a subtle way to tell him he isn’t interested?

If he really meant “I like someone, so back off”, he wouldn’t be texting or replying to Mikey as much as he has, right? Mikey’s not always the one who initiates conversations or even FaceTime calls. In the end, he doesn’t dwell on it too much considering Nate doesn’t bring it up again. 

***

Mikey’s shooting hoops in his driveway by himself when Dylan pulls up to his house and rushes out of the car.

“What happened?” Mikey asks, laughing at a jittery Dylan who’s running towards him full throttle.

“He kissed me!” Dylan yells, crashing into Mikey and lifting him up in his arms.

Mikey shimmies in his arms to get down. He swallows hard and puts on a fake smile. “Yeah? That’s awesome, man. Congrats,” he says, mustering as much enthusiasm as he can. 

He knew this was going to happen at some point. Dylan’s never the one to keep quiet about his love life, he used to chronical everything to Mikey when he was with Mitch. But Mikey still finds himself gut punched at every mention of Nate and Dylan being a thing.

“It was fucking magical, Clouder,” Dylan says, swooning.

“You’re disgusting, get a grip,” Mikey jokes, shoving Dylan’s shoulder.

“Nah, you just don’t get it,” Dylan replies. “You’ve never been in love.”

Mikey’s face drops, the implication of Dylan’s statement shocking him to the core and raising the bile in his stomach. “It’s love, eh?”

“Fuck yeah!” Dylan exclaims and then quirks an eyebrow at Mikey. “What’s with the face?”

Mikey wipes the distraught look he’s sure is on display off his face and smiles. “Nothing, I just didn’t realize things were that serious between you two. I mean you did just kiss for the first time.”

Dylan tilts his head and looks at Mikey funny. “Um, we definitely didn’t kiss for the first time, what the fuck?”

Mikey looks back confused. “What do you mean?”

“We’ve kissed before…” Dylan draws the words out as if Mikey doesn’t know English.

“Oh, I mean, I just assumed-”

“Dude,” Dylan interrupts. “Did you ever pay attention when I told you things about us?”

Mikey shrugs. Dylan barely ever talks about Nate let alone kissing him or anything intimate. Mikey thinks he’d remember if that was ever mentioned, but he doesn’t want to argue or even talk about the topic any longer.

“Your voice is like nails on a chalkboard,” Mikey says, mustering up a grin.

“Fuck off,” Dylan says, stealing the basketball from Mikey’s hand and dribbling it down the driveway.

Mikey’s proud of himself for not letting out how much he wants to curl up in a ball under his covers as they start a game of Horse.

As he shoots to avoid the S in Horse, he realizes he’s going to have to cut back on talking to Nate or cut him out altogether. Mikey’s falling for his best friend’s boyfriend and it’s gone on long enough.

***

The problem with trying to cut Nate out of his life is that it’s easier said than done. Nate is relentless with the texts and FaceTime calls. Mikey tries to answer with short replies and make excuses to avoid calls because he can’t just go cold turkey on Nate.

 **Nate** : winter soldier is on tv  
**Nate** : you should come over and watch :)  
**Mikey** : can’t i’m help my mom with something  
**Nate** : but dude sebastian stan is so hot  
**mikey** : lol  
**Nate** : do you not agree?

Mikey tosses his phone on his bed and heads downstairs to help his mom with dinner so that he feels less like an asshole for lying to Nate. 

After dinner, he checks his phone as he settles in for bed.

 **Nate** : ???  
**Nate** : what’s ur type then?  
**Nate** : oh right ur probs helping ur mom

Mikey ignores his question and taps over to Instagram. He’s scrolling through his feed when Nate starts FaceTiming him. He lets it ring instead of out right declining so he’d think it was a missed call and continues watching weird dessert recipes. 

**Nate** : there’s no way ur still helping ur mom  
**Nate** : mikey??? I’m bored help me

Mikey bites his lip and reluctantly gives in.

 **Mikey** : yo sorry just saw this  
**Nate** : so what’s ur type?  
**Mikey** : lol why do u wanna know so bad?  
**Nate** : haha don’t worry i got over it

This puzzles Mikey, he doesn’t know what Nate’s referring to.

 **Mikey** : over what?  
**Nate** : ...ur really gonna make me say it?  
**Mikey** : i’m confused  
**Nate** : remember when i told u about my feelings?

Mikey’s chest caves at the reminder. He ignores Nate’s text like he originally planned. He feels like a dick for leaving him hanging but the last thing he wants to do is talk to Nate about Dylan.

The next morning, he wakes to question marks sent from Nate. Mikey apologizes for falling asleep and doesn’t reply back for the rest of the day. He keeps this up for a week as Nate gradually stops initiating the conversations.

 **Nate** : are we ok?

Mikey stares at the text for a long time on Friday night. On one hand, he wants to reassure Nate that everything is fine and not hurt his feelings. On the other hand, he wants to say no to ensure things between them stay strained and eventually dissolve so he can move on. 

Ultimately, he takes the cowards way out and ignores the text altogether. Dylan brings it up with him when they’re getting ready the next day for a party at Alex’s. 

“What’s up with you and Nater?” Dylan asks, lathering gel into his hair.

Mikey makes a face of disgust at his hair as he replies, “What do you mean?”

“He says you’ve been avoiding him? He seemed bummed,” Dylan answers, wiping his sticky hands on Mikey’s hand towel.

“You’re so disgusting,” Mikey says pulling the towel from the rack and throwing it into his hamper. “And I haven’t been avoiding him, I’ve just been busy getting things ready for the end of August.”

“Oh, well tell him that then. He really likes you, Mikey. I can tell you mean a lot to him,” Dylan says, smiling at Mikey in earnest.

Mikey has never felt like a bigger asshole than in that moment. So Nate’s apparently told Dylan how good of friends Mikey and him have become and it doesn’t upset Dylan at all because why should he be worried about his best friend and boyfriend getting close?

“Um, yeah. That’s, yeah,” Mikey says, running a comb through his hair even though he brushed it already. “I’ll talk to him tonight.”

Dylan grins and starts rinsing the gel out of his hair after failing to properly style it. “Good, I just want you to be as happy as I am, Clouder.”

Mikey feels like throwing up and not because of the gel residue that now clogs his sink.

***

When they arrive at Alex’s, they go their separate ways. Dylan heads towards where everyone’s packed into the living room and Mikey walks over to the drink selection in the kitchen. 

“Hi,” someone says from behind him as he grabs a beer from the fridge. He turns to see Nate, rocking back and forth on the heel of his shoe, hands shoved into his pockets.

“Hey,” Mikey replies.

“Everything okay?” Nate asks.

“Yeah, everything’s fine,” Mikey says, taking a swig of his beer. “You want one?”

“Sure,” Nate says walking over to the fridge before Mikey can turn around and grab a beer for him.

Nate brushes up against Mikey as he reaches in for a can. Mikey takes a few steps away from him to keep himself from doing something stupid like sniff him.

Nate sighs and shakes his head. “I’m not going to molest you or something,” he says, annoyed.

“What?” Mikey squeaks.

“Why have you been avoiding me?” Nate asks.

“I haven’t. I gotta go pee,” Mikey blurts out before dashing towards the bathroom.

In his haste to get away from Nate, he doesn’t bother to knock and yanks the bathroom door open only to be greeted by the sight of his best friend and his ex-boyfriend making out intensely against the sink.

“Ahhh!” Mikey yells as he also realizes Dylan’s got his hand down Mitch’s pants. “What the fuck?”

“Get out!” Dylan shouts back.

“What are you doing?” Mikey asks, appalled and upset on Nate’s behalf. “You have a boyfriend!”

Dylan’s face shifts from annoyed to confused. “Uh...yeah.”

Mitch slowly pulls Dylan’s hand out of his pants and zips himself up, looking equally as confused as Dylan.

“How could you do this to Nate?” Mikey asks. He couldn’t believe Dylan would cheat, especially with someone as kind and sweet as Nate. “I thought you two were exclusive? You’re always going on about how much you like him.”

Mitch snaps his head to Dylan and shoves him away. “Fuck you,” he spits out before pushing past Mikey and out of the bathroom.

“What the hell are you talking about?” Dylan asks, aggravated and impatient. “Why would you lie like that? Are you demented?”

“What?” Mikey asks, now it’s his turn to be confused.

“What?” 

“Are you and Nate not exclusive then?” Mikey asks.

“No, what the fuck? We’re not even together, where did you get that idea?”

Mikey squints and thinks back on his conversations with Dylan and Nate. “Who’ve you been seeing then? You’ve been all swoony over someone since you asked Nate out at the road hockey tournament.”

Dyland sighs and looks up at the ceiling. “Yeah, over Mitch, you dumbshit. Nate and I only went out like twice and it was more like chilling with a bro than anything else. I told him I wasn’t over Mitch and that I didn’t want to lead him on and he was totally understanding. He told me to go after Mitch and didn’t mind because he was actually crushing on someone else,” he says with a pointed look directed at Mikey.

“Oh,” Mikey replies, realizing he was assuming things this whole time. “Wait, who does he like?”

“I don’t have time for this shit. I have to find Mitch,” Dylan growls. He pushes past Mikey to leave.

“Oh,” Mikey repeats, another realization slowly dawning on him. “Oh...ohhh.”

He rushes out and runs around the house looking for Nate. He finally finds him by the front door looking ready to leave.

“Hey!” Mikey shouts as he races up to him. “Party just started, where are you going?”

Nate shrugs, looking uncomfortable. “I’m not really feeling it.”

“Can we talk?” Mikey asks.

“I don’t think there’s anything for us to talk about,” Nate says, sounding dejected. He turns around and gets a hand on the doorknob.

“But I’m like the biggest idiot in the world!” Mikey shouts in an effort to stop him.

It works. Nate turns back slowly and raises an eyebrow as if asking him to explain. 

“Come outside with me,” Mikey demands, taking Nate’s hand and dragging him out to the front porch.

“What’s going on?” Nate asks, staring at his hand in Mikey’s.

Mikey squeezes it and laces their fingers together. “I thought you were dating Dylan this whole time.”

“What?” Nate exclaims. He tries to pull his hand away but Mikey keeps a firm grip on it.

“He kept telling me about how good things were going with someone and how they kissed and all this shit, I just assumed he was talking about you. He never mentioned a name so I don’t know,” Mikey explains. 

“You never once asked?” Nate asks, eyebrows furrowed.

“No, I, um. I didn’t want to hear about you guys so I would just avoid the topic altogether unless he brought it up.”

“But I told you I had feelings for someone,” Nate points out.

“Yeah, I thought you were talking about Dylan.”

“We went on like two dates and he just talked about Mitch the whole time,” Nate explains.

“I know, he told me. I’m sorry! I just assumed and, um, those feelings? Those are for me, right?” Mikey asks shyly.

“Not anymore!” Nate shouts in annoyance. “You _are_ the biggest idiot in the world.”

“I’m falling for you,” Mikey blurts out in panic. “Fuck.”

“What?” Nate asks, sounding hysterical.

“I avoided you lately because I thought you were dating my best friend and here I was falling for you and-”

“I thought you were uncomfortable because of how much I liked you,” Nate interrupts him. “I told you a while back I had feelings for someone and you said it was obvious so I thought you knew I liked you and didn’t feel the same since you didn’t say anything back.”

“No! No, no. That’s...no.”

“I flirt with you like all the time!” Nate exclaims. “You think I’d do that if I had a boyfriend?”

“I don’t know!” Mikey replies. “I just thought maybe you were like that with everyone.”

Nate narrows his eyes at him. “I asked you what you were wearing in bed one time.”

“I thought you were curious. I didn’t know it was a sexual thing,” Mikey says with a shrug. “Um, it was meant as a sexual thing, right?”

Nate smacks him in the back of the head with his free hand. “Yes, you absolute moron. I was trying to sext you.”

Mikey blushes and looks down at their intertwined hands. “I see.”

“What made you get all this wrong?” Nate asks.

Mikey makes a face of disgust. “I barged in on Dylan and Mitch making out in the bathroom. I thought he was cheating on you so I started yelling at him but he explained to me how wrong I was about things.”

“Why didn’t you just ask me out at the hockey tournament? We obviously connected and I could tell you wanted to.”

Mikey sighs. “Dylan told me the night we met you that he thought you were hot and that he got your number. Bro code.”

Nate nods in understanding. “I only said yes to him because I figured it’d be killing two birds with one stone: getting both you and Mitch jealous.”

“It worked,” Mikey says.

“So now what?” Nate asks, squeezing Mikey’s hand.

“Will you go out with me?” Mikey asks. “Even though I’m a fucking idiot who doesn’t know shit about social cues.”

Nate laughs and pulls Mikey closer to him. “I’m never letting you live this down. You’re so stupid.”

“So is that a yes, or?”

Nate crushes his lips against Mikey’s. “Did you understand that social cue or do you need me to put it into words?” Nate asks after pulling away.

“I got it, I got it,” Mikey assures him. He unlinks their hands and wraps both of his around Nate’s neck to reel him back in for another kiss.

**Author's Note:**

> [tumblr](http://liveinfurry.tumblr.com/)


End file.
